


Black Sand Beach

by Seer_of_Soul



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: >_> oops, Alternate Timeline, I think I made an AU for my own fic, M/M, Not part of A Light Not Your Own, for A Light Not Your Own
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 21:42:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18199679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seer_of_Soul/pseuds/Seer_of_Soul
Summary: An AU Drabble kinda thing some lovely readers of mine said they wanted to see. So here it is.Cole found himself on a beach in a world where no sun ever rose. He stayed there, for so long that time seemed like an illusion, until something finally happened.





	Black Sand Beach

The beach was dark, and the sun never rose. The waves were an inky black as they crashed against the shore endlessly. The wind blew, but not in any direction. There weren’t any sounds of animals, only the waves crashing against the shore and the wind rustling the tree tops. There was never a moment of silence, and yet, only silence. 

Cole didn’t know how long he’d been on that beach, how long he’d spent walking in endless circles. The sun never rose, so he couldn’t count the days. There wasn’t a moon either, just the stars that cluttered the sky. The beach was an island, he knew that much. He’d walked along the beach, following it, only to end up back where he’d started enough times to realize that he’d just walked around in a circle. So he’d stopped walking. He just sat down and waited... for something, anything. And for the longest time, nothing came. 

The sluggishness set in not long after he stopped walking. Time itself seemed to move like molasses. His body steadily became heavier... no, more detached. He felt like he was dreaming, only partly in control of how it moved. Every time he blinked, it felt like minutes passed. He knew he was still breathing, and something was still beating in his chest, but there was no presence to it. He wasn’t alive anymore, just existing. 

Then, all at once, the sky bent and stretched, buckling under the weight of something. Very slowly, the star speckled canvas descended, reaching down to gently brush over the sand of the beach, not that far from Cole. Cole scrambled to his feet, cautious as he started approaching the sky on the beach. His body moved faster than his mind did. His mind was still trying to focus on this thing in front of him. 

Then, like a flower blooming, the sky opened and receded back to its place. Cole watched it go, a little distraught that he’d been too worried to try to catch it. But then, it had left something on the beach. 

There was a dark shape laying on the sand where the sky had dropped it. Cole slowly approached it, moving cautiously. This was the first time this had happened, the first time anything had happened. This was the only thing that actually showed that time had passed at all. There was a before this. And now there would be an after this. Cole leaned forward on his toes. He felt the sand contort around his bare feet, threatening to swallow his toes. 

The thing on the sand shifted, letting out a soft groan. Cole lurched backwards, darting to hide behind a tree. Well, he wasn’t really hiding, the tree wasn’t thick enough. But he felt better with something between him and... was that another person? If it was a person, they were completely covered. Cole hadn’t seen any sign of skin or hair, and if those were clothes, they were unlike any he’d seen before. They looked braided, with thick strands that followed the curve of muscle. Like the skin had been carefully removed, leaving only the muscle behind. Oh. That was gross....

The person, Cole decided that it must be a person, sat up. Oh. There was a helmet on their head. The person looked around, then rose to their feet. Then they saw Cole. 

Cole saw their whole body tense, like a ripple running through them. Then they started stalking. They moved like a predator, slinking purposefully and gracefully over the sand. Cole kept the palm tree between them, watching as their fingers curled. There was a distinct weight to the movement, something giving Cole a sense of danger. 

“Who the hell are you?” The person said in a low growl. Their voice was slightly muffled by their helmet, but given more of a cutting edge at the same time. 

Cole hesitated, apparently too long. A strangely shaped weapon appeared in the stranger’s hand and they cut through the palm tree with a single swing. Cole scampered backwards, ducking behind another palm tree a few feet away. Wait. Slow down. His mind was still scrambling, trying to work again after so long of being inactive. The person with the weapon stalked forward, shoulders hunched and fingers curled into claws. They cut down the new tree and Cole retreated again. He wasn’t sure what’d run out first, the stranger’s hostility or the line of palm trees on the beach. 

Several trees later, the person was even more aggressive. Now they were snarling and yelling out curses when they cut down each new tree, sometimes jabbing their weapon at Cole when he retreated. All the while, the stranger cursed and spat, demanding to know who Cole was. Cole had tried to answer several times, but his voice choked off every time. He didn’t think he’d lost his voice, maybe it was just rusty from not being used. But the person had always tried to slash at him before he could try to regain it. 

Then, finally, dreadfully, the line of trees was at its end. Cole glanced over his shoulder as the person stomped towards his last tree. There was a good hundred feet between his last tree and the edge of the island’s forest. If he could make it there, he’d probably be able to find a place to hide. He’d tuck himself into a hole and wait for the stranger to leave. If they could. 

They raised their weapon up to cleave the last tree open, and brought it down. Cole took off before the weapon even hit the tree, sprinting across the loose sand as fast as he could without slipping and falling. He heard the hallow sounding thump as the top of the tree was separated from the bottom. 

Slowly, a feeling of alertness spread over him like a hot drink hitting his stomach. The life came back to his chest, his heart beating hard enough to feel. His eyes focused for what felt like the first time. He could see the way his vision bounced as the sand swallowed his feet for only a split second before he yanked them free. The waves were throwing up mist as they crashed. He could feel it against his skin. The sand was warmer than it should have been, given how long that it had been night. He felt like he was alive again. Again... like there was a first time. Cole had just enough time to wonder about that thought before a heavy weight collided with his shoulder. 

Cole pivoted around on one foot as he fell. There was a dark shape above him and a painful grip on his shoulder as the other person rode him to the ground. Their weapon impaled itself in the sand next to Cole’s head and a heavy weight settled over his chest, just above where his ribs gave way to his stomach. One arm was pinned against his side, under the warm, but heavy weight. The other was held against the sand by his head, in a grip matching the one that had moved to his neck. 

The person was hovering above him, Cole’s reflection staring back at him instead of the other’s face. Cole grit his teeth, squirming and trying to buck the other person off of him. It didn’t do any good, only dig his shoulders and feet deeper into the sand. The grip around his neck tightened until he stopped moving, choking as the hand pinched his throat painfully. 

Cole stared uselessly up at his reflection. How long had it been since he’d seen his own face? He looked more tired than he remembered, and his face was thinner too. When was the last time he’d actually eaten something? His hair was a darker shade now, more brown than blond. And his eyes looked more like the inky black waves crashing against the shore than the sky from back home, what they used to be. With a small degree of spite, Cole saw that the stupid lock of hair was still sticking up funny. He really wanted to brush his hair all of a sudden. The stranger must have taken Cole staring at his face, or rather the mask covering his face, as a challenge, because he leaned down until Cole’s nose was almost touching the reflective black glass. 

“No more games...,” the other person said, growling more than speaking. “No more running. Now answer me. Who are you? And why did you bring me here?” There was an edge to their voice, almost daring Cole to disobey, almost begging him to. 

Cole coughed, wincing as his throat contorted strangely. He mouthed the word ‘ow’ which the other person seemed to take as ‘ok’ instead. Cole took several breaths and coughed a few more times. He opened his mouth and forced words out, despite the screaming pain of the too long unused voice. “I...,” he choked, coughing painfully. His chest lurched against the stranger’s weight, but they didn’t move.

Cole swallowed several times, trying to clear his throat enough to relearn how to speak. “I’m... k-k-ch... I’mmm... Col... le. Co...le. I’m Cole....” He let out a long sigh, pressing his head back against the sand. That was much harder than it had any right to be. Cole took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the words out despite the pain. “I di-did-nnnn’t brin-nnng... bring y-ya... here....” He sighed. Close enough. He looked up at the stranger, hoping the pain didn’t show as much as he thought it did. His reflection said it showed every bit. 

The stranger sat back, letting their grip slip off of Cole’s wrist, but they left their other hand hovering close to Cole’s neck. Cole didn’t feel relieved. The stranger was still on top of him. They still looked dangerous. 

“Where is this place?”

Cole shrugged helplessly, not quite trusting his voice. The stranger sat up a little more, pivoting their head. 

“It looks like the Dark World... but that wouldn’t have stars.”

Cole looked up at the sky above them. There only ever were stars. He wondered what kind of world had only stars in its night. The stranger let out a sharp sigh. Cole looked back up at them and realized something. He tapped his hand against their thigh. They turned their head to look down at him. He could practically see them glaring at him. He wondered what their eyes looked like. 

With a small series of signs that he barely remembered, Cole asked the stranger for their name. They tilted their head curiously. “What the hell does that mean?”

Cole huffed out a sigh, laying his head back against the sand. He pursed his lips, then pointed a finger at the other person and crooked out, “Nnn-name...?”

Cole could almost feel the stranger’s eyebrows go up. They didn’t move though. There was a long moment of silence, only broken by the rhythmic crash of waves. Then the stranger leaned down, one hand drifting to gently touch Cole’s throat, not choking yet. The stranger’s mask hovered a few inches above Cole’s face, until all he could see was his own reflection. 

“Why?”

Cole tilted his head. Why wouldn’t he ask for their name? The other person seemed to understand his confusion, since they sat back again. This time, they pulled their hand away from Cole’s throat, letting both their arms hang limply at their sides. Cole stared up at them, watching carefully. 

“I’m Vanitas.”

 

Sometime later, though there wasn’t any way to tell how long, Cole sat alone on the beach. He had dug little holes for his feet in the wet sand, placed so that every time the water rose along the shore, his feet would get wet again. The water rose, then paused for a moment, then slowly slid back down the shore, dragging at his feet and the sand. He had lost track of Vanitas a long time ago, which was probably the other’s plan. He seemed to like slipping off into the woods of the island. Cole was pretty sure he was taking his frustration out on the trees with that weapon of his. 

After Vanitas had stopped trying to kill him with it, Cole got a sense of familiarity from the weapon. He was sure he’d never seen this one before, but he somehow just knew that he’d seen one like it. But then Vanitas had put it away and hadn’t drawn it in front of Cole since. 

Cole heard the soft sound of shifting sand behind him. He tilted his head up a little, now staring at the horizon instead of his feet. Vanitas sat down next to him, a few feet away. “I hate this place,” he said. 

Cole hummed softly. “At least it’s peaceful.”

“That’s another thing that I hate about it.”

Cole looked at Vanitas out of the corner of his eye. He saw his own reflection staring back at him. Some of his hair was sticking up funny. He brushed his fingers through it, pushing it back into place. He sighed softly, leaning back on his elbows. He yanked his feet out of the sand and wiggled his toes to get the sand off. “You could always try swimming... if you’re so bored.”

Vanitas huffed through his nose, at least that’s what Cole thought that sound was. “This world’s too small. There’s nothing else here.”

“Guess we wait for the sky to fall down again. Maybe it’ll bring a couch or something. A shower would be nice too.” Cole laid back on his back, curling his arms behind his head. 

Vanitas turned to look down at him. “‘Wait for the sky to fall’?”

Cole stared up at the stars above him. “That’s how you got here, probably same for me. Part of the sky fell down and kinda dropped you on the beach. I didn’t get close enough to see if I could catch it. If we could, we might be able to ride it up out of here.”

Cole glanced up at Vanitas, watching as he tapped a finger against his chin, or rather the chin guard of his hamlet. It looked kinda sharp. Cole half expected him to cut himself on it. He half wanted to ask Vanitas what he was thinking, but that’d probably send him storming off into the forest again. 

Cole wasn’t sure if he could say he enjoyed Vanitas’s company, but the company itself was nice. It made him feel like time was actually moving forward, instead of stagnating. And he preferred being able to see him too, rather than having to just guess at where he was. It made him nervous, not being able to see Vanitas. Cole wasn’t sure if it was because he was expecting to be attacked from behind, or if he was scared that Vanitas would just disappear. 

“Have you found anything in the forest?” Cole asked, feeling a need to break the silence. 

“Trees,” Vanitas snapped down at him. Oh so he was feeling snippy today... ‘today’.

“Did you find that one rock yet?” Two can play this sarcasm game. 

Vanitas’s head tilted slightly. “Rock?”

“Yeah. That one rock. Looks suspicious... and smash-able.” Cole felt himself smirk. He let his eyes flutter shut after a moment, just listening to the waves and the wind. A long moment passed in noisy silence. 

Cole could practically feel Vanitas narrowing his eyes at him. “You’re making fun of me.”

Cole huffed. “I wouldn’t dare!” He cracked an eye open, feeling his smile spreading. “Mild teasing however....” Even without a face for an expression, Vanitas looked like he wanted to stab him. Cole decided he better stop antagonizing him before Vanitas decided that stabbing him would hold far more pros than cons. “But there really is a weird rock in the forest. It’s shaped funny.” He pushed himself up on his elbows. “I can show you....” 

Vanitas scoffed, standing up in one fluid motion. “I’ll find it myself.” He turned on his heel and stalked back across the beach. There was an unspoken ‘I don’t need your help.’ At least even Vanitas seemed to realize how lame that would be if he said it out loud. 

Cole tilted his head, watching him leave. “Sure.” He laid back down. Vanitas wouldn’t be able to find it. He was sure of that. Cole let his eyes slide closed. He could sleep.... Vanitas was sure to come wake him up when he couldn’t find the rock. And he couldn’t. So Cole could sleep... without worrying about if he could wake up once he did. He was so tired.... Cole let out a long breath and settled back into the sand. His head rolled to the side and his mind slipped away from his body, fully diving into sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Tada~ hope you all enjoyed! I am working on the next chapter of A Light Not Your Own, but I’m making myself read through all of what’s already published first. So it’ll take a little while longer than usual. °v°
> 
> I’ll actually write more on this eventually, but it’s a side project (one of many) so it’ll probably be a while. >,>


End file.
